Sunday, May 9, 2010

Ironies in Personal Histories

Oberlin was just named one of the top ten "Hipster" schools, whatever that means. The irony is I went to Oberlin because I felt like I never fit in at my high school, and Oberlin had the rep for being a place where such people do fit in. And I did, more or less, despite the fact that I am not and was not a hippie or hipster. I never ate at a co-op on campus, avoided the vegetarian options all of the time unless pancakes count, and didn't wear black. My politics of the time, as they are now, qualified me for the right wing of Oberlin's political spectrum, although my blog clearly reveals over the past year that I am center-left. Of course, that experience prepared me for my current role asthe hardliner on Canada in Afghanistan. I did and still do play ultimate, which is perhaps the only hippie/hipster activity in which I engage.

The real lesson here is that reputation matters more than reality. Not all Obies are gay, liberal or vegetarian. On average they are more interested in the environment, they are more interested in social justice (whatever that means), they are more on the left side of the spectrum. The key thing that unites all Obies is not that they are interesting but that they are interested. Apathetic most of them were. And that made all of the difference.

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Intro

Greetings! I am a political scientist, specializing in International Relations, my research and teaching focus on ethnic conflict and civil-military relations. I watch way too much TV. I rant about American politics and a few about Canadian politics. I like to take ideas I once learned a long time ago and apply them to whatever strikes my fancy. I am now a CDFAI Fellow, so expect a few more posts on Canada's defence and foreign policies.